


Promise

by DreamerFae



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2020-07-21 08:09:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19998679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamerFae/pseuds/DreamerFae
Summary: Touka goes to find Kaneki after hearing that he cannibalizes ghouls and tries to persuade him not to.





	Promise

**Author's Note:**

> I was just thinking what if Touka had found Kaneki after he left Anteiku, would things be different? And there you go, a one-shot idea out yays :> Comments, please!

News of a certain eye-patched ghoul cannibalizing his own kind spread like wildfire, even the employees at Anteiku have heard of it.

Touka found herself frowning as she wiped down a table and heard the whispers of their ghoul customers.

"Have you heard? The eye-patched ghoul eats every ghoul he kills! He must be either too strong or fucked up in the head. Any ghoul who eats too much meat goes crazy!"

"Yeah... it's best not to cross his path, lest he goes berserk on us..."

It's been a few months since Anteiku crashed in on the CCG's operations in exterminating Aogiri Tree and since Kaneki left Anteiku. He hasn't returned, and the only time when she heard of him was through these kinds of rumors from the ghouls that frequent their cafe.

Her frown went deeper. It was upsetting and disappointing that Kaneki Ken, once an employee and a friend to her, never bothered or cared to visit them after leaving. It was as if he never worked here in the first place. Touka cursed him every night for leaving them, leaving her, like her parents did even if they promised they wouldn't.

But deep down, she knew she was upset because she missed his presence, missed his clumsy ass, missed him as a person. Only after he left, she realized how much she liked him, as a guy.

She always had second thoughts, what if she had stopped him from leaving, or what if she had joined him, would things between them be different? Would they have become a couple?

Besides, she knew the dangers of cannibalizing because she has seen with her very own eyes, how her father went crazy from doing that and she didn't want the same thing to happen to Kaneki.

She wanted to go to him and tell him to stop it before it's too late. But she didn't have a single clue about his whereabouts and sighed heavily.

Yomo glanced at her. "Is it about Ken, Touka?"

Flinching, she turned around to face him with a sheepish smile. "Was it that obvious?"

"..yes."

"I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't think about this during work. I'll stop."

He hesitated. "..nothing wrong."

There was silence.

"Do you want to know where he is?" Yomo asked.

—

Standing in front of a container, Touka glanced at her surroundings. So it was true, from what Yomo said, that he stayed in an abandoned port and in a container.

She sniffed. She could smell him. He had just taken a shower, as his scent mixed with his earthy body soap fragrance. Steeling her nerves and gathering her courage, she knocked.

Whilst Kaneki was drying his hair with a towel, he froze when a knock came on the door. No one knew he lived here and he never told anyone. Putting on his clothes, he inched towards the door and prepared for battle.

But a nostalgic scent hit him when he approached the door and he tensed.

Touka.

What should he do? He could pretend he wasn't home but he knew ghouls had good smelling abilities. Before he could even decide what to do, she spoke.

"I know you're in there, Kaneki. I can smell you!"

He cursed. Looking himself over in the mirror, he made sure he looked proper and combed his hair with his fingers. He frowned at the sight of his white hair and black nails, a sign of his weakness from Yamori's torture.

Exhaling hugely, he opened the door. Having grown bulkier in the past few months from training, she seemed so tiny as he stared down at her who had her hands on her hips and a frown on her face.

"Ya done staring? Let me in!"

"O-oh right.."

Closing the door behind him, he proceeded to his kitchen and pulled out cups. "I'll make coffee."

"Mm."

Meanwhile, Touka walked around his unusual 'apartment' and made noises of approval. "You have a nice place."

"Thanks.."

Kaneki's heart raced. Why was she here?

As if she could read his thoughts, she stood behind him and spoke. "I'm here to talk to you about something. I heard you've been cannibalizing ghouls."

With his back facing her, he was glad that she couldn't see the panicked expression on his face and he tried to calm himself. "I know. But I need to get stronger so I need to do it."

He felt her hand on his muscled arm. Her soft voice seemed so sad and he felt bad. "You don't have to. We can fight together."

Kaneki turned around to look at her. "No, I've seen what Aogiri is capable of. To return the favor of Anteiku taking me in, I need to do this. Please understand."

"Understand?" Anger boiled within her. "Why can't you get it through your stubborn skull that we're all in this together? We're not weak. We're probably even stronger than you!"

His eyes averted. "That's the point. When it comes down to a war or a fight, I'll be totally useless to all of you..."

"Kaneki, please. I've seen my father go crazy from cannibalizing and I don't want the same thing to happen to you!"

His hand went to his chin and he closed his eyes. "I won't go crazy."

It was a lie. He was already seeing hallucinations and saw more nightmares in his sleep. What she said was true, he was slowly feeling himself go crazier by the day.

Touka has been holding herself back from hitting him out of anger but she reached her limit. She was going to show him how angry she was through actions, since words wouldn't work. "Fuck you!" She shouted.

Flinching, Kaneki prepared for a punch but instead, she grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him down to press her lips against his. He sucked in a breath at the sudden action and stared at her dumbfounded when she withdrew.

Tears slipping down her cheeks, she hastily wiped them away but to no avail.

"Why can't you understand that I love you and don't want you to get hurt?!"

The fact that she had feelings for him struck him deeply. With the way she treated him, with all the scolding and punching, he couldn't fathom her in love with him. It just wouldn't be possible. His one-sided feelings for her wouldn't be reciprocated so easily.

"You don't have to lie to me. No one loves me. No one even needs me."

"You son of a—" she stopped herself there. No point arguing with him on this when she was so agitated and upset. "Just—just do whatever you want. I tried to warn you but you won't listen."

She stood there sniffling. Feeling extremely guilty for her tears, he reached for her but she slapped his hand away. "Go away!"

"Touka-Chan, please.. it upsets me to see you cry."

"If it upsets you so much, then listen to me! Stop cannibalizing!"

"You know I can't do that.."

Silence filled the air, besides the sounds of her sobbing.

"Is it true about what you said earlier? That you l-love me?"

"When have I ever lied to you?" She asked him back.

Kaneki looked to the floor and shuffled his feet awkwardly. Gathering his courage, he stepped towards her and reached for her again. She struggled as he grabbed her wrists and made her look at him.

"Stop, you baka—"

The female stopped her struggling when his sorrowful and lonely eyes met hers. He dropped her arms and moved to cup her cheeks. Shifting closer, he nuzzled his nose against hers and pressed his lips to hers.

Touka made a noise of protest but didn't make a move to push him away. To have the guy she loved finally kiss her, she just didn't have it in her to reject him because she also wanted this.

Closing her eyes, she wrapped her arms around his waist to pull him closer. He stepped closer to her, with her chest up against his as he sucked her lips, whilst she sucked his.

They separated to take in air but their hands remained on each other. Their eyes locked and Kaneki's thumbs caressed her cheeks. "I love you too, Touka-Chan. You were mostly my reason for leaving. I wanted to protect you. If anything happened to you, I won't forgive myself."

"I wanted to be with you, Kaneki. Even if you weren't strong, I would still stay with you."

Tears brimmed in his eyes at her confession. "Thank you."

He kissed her again.

Letting the coffee he made go cold on the kitchen counter, they made their way into the bedroom, where Touka sat on the bed and slipped off her clothes.

Kaneki's cheeks burned and he removed his own clothes too before settling on top of her on the bed. He cupped her cheek and gazed at her. "Are you sure?"

Her gaze was determined. "Yes."

—

After everything was over, she laid in his arms and listened as his racing heart slowly slowed into a stable beat. Though they were both sweaty and sticky from their lovemaking, she liked the intimacy between them as they intertwined their limbs together and how he held her tightly in his arms as if she'd go somewhere if he released her.

Stroking his cheek, Touka gazed into his grey eyes. "Won't you come back to Anteiku?"

Frowning, he shook his head. "I'm sorry."

Her heart dropped. "Then will you promise me to find other ways of getting stronger instead of cannibalizing?"

He hesitated. "I promise."

"Promise me also that you'll be careful out there."

He nodded. "I promise."

She smiled and buried her face into her chest.

"Promise me that you'll come back to me one day after you're done with what you want to do."

Kaneki held her tightly and kissed her head. "I promise."

—

Whilst it took him a case of amnesia and years of fighting, he kept his promise and returned to Touka's side. He married her and made a family with her.

Even in the years they were apart, their feelings towards one another never changed and they loved each other until the day they died.

—

No matter how far, I won't give up on you. I promise to love you every single day of our forever.

**Author's Note:**

> do leave a comment if you liked it!


End file.
